Friday (March 1) night, Nicki Minaj embarked on the first date of her highly anticipated “Pink Friday 2 World Tour” in Oakland, California. While many lauded the Hip Hop icon for her lengthy set, supporting act and R&B legend, Monica received countless praises for her performance in the middle of Minaj’s headlining set.

Since Pink Friday 2‘s release in December 2023, Minaj’s name has been buzzing on social media. Whether it be her short-lived beef with Megan Thee Stallion, dropping the deluxe version of her project, or her spicy Instagram Lives, she knows how to maintain attention. Therefore, fans were elated to see how her set would fare when she announced the popular R&B songstress would be joining her tour.

One fan on social media exclaimed, “Nicki was so real for allowing Monica to perform mid-show and not as an opening act!! Like, put some respect on this legend! Can’t wait to see her for more shows!” Another user stated, “Nah, I’m getting my life from Monica’s set. I cannot wait for Atlanta. They’re going to be going off.”

Following her performance, the Queen Radio Twitter page wrote, “[Monica Denise] is now on stage, opening night, and she not only LOOKS flawless but sounds flawless, too. I love that Nicki put her in the middle of the show like this and gave her a FULL STAGE (not common for guests), AND allowed full visual access. THAT’S how you do it!”

Before the start of their inaugural show, Monica took to her Instagram Story to say, “I want to thank the BARBZ for all the kindness and love shown towards me. Mo MOB and I greatly appreciate all of you. This show is going to blow you all’s minds; EVERYTHING is next level.”

Last week, on Feb. 20, Minaj took to Instagram Live to update fans on the trek. In addition to treating the Barbz to a special moment with her backup dancers, Minaj asked how much it would cost to book Katt Williams.

“I know that this is the busiest man in show business. I know that he’s rich, and I know that he’s the funniest man in show biz,” she began. “Can y’all hit up Katt Williams and ask him what would be his price to be a part of the ‘Pink Friday 2 [World] Tour’?”

While Williams is not on the tour, it seems that fans of the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” emcee were excited to see her embrace Monica and allow her to perform during the headlining set instead of having her open up the show.